Ok, stalk makes it sound more dramatic than it is. But I do have an app that allows me to keep tabs on – and control – how much time he spends on his gadgets.

Oliver, talking about the scale of social media and tech today, rightly said: “We are the first generation of parents to deal with this.”

He monitors the location of his teenage daughters using Life360, the app which lets users view loved ones on a map and receive live alerts when they arrive at home, school or work.

But over the summer I found something much better.

For years, I’ve been able to see where my 13-year-old is as we share an Apple ID which lets me know where his device, and therefore he, is.

On the advice of a friend, the mother of a teenage girl who was permanently glued to her phone, I ­installed an app called Qustodio.

This “parental control software” allows me to block his apps, set limits on the amount of time he uses his device and filters web content.

It also produces an activity log which lets me see when he played for 124 minutes straight. It’s so much easier than trying to prise his beloved phone out of his hands or turning off the wi-fi.

Jamie Oliver is one of the many parents who monitor their children online (Image: PA)

Apple founder Steve Jobs was also known to limit his children's use of technology (Image: Getty)

Some people argue it is an invasion of privacy. But while I felt a small pang of guilt knowing every website he visited and how long for, as far as I’m concerned it’s responsible parenting.

One of the things I love about the app is the way it shuts down access to the internet after my set limit and flashes up the words “TIME’S UP”. I’m surprised more parents aren’t using it.

For me, it’s not about monitoring every teeny bit of his internet and phone use, it’s about setting limits so that he doesn’t spend every waking hour on his phone.

I used Qustodio to set what I thought was a reasonable four-hour daily limit. Studies suggest two hours is a better limit and children who spend longer on gadgets and social media can get fat, depressed and sleep-deprived.

His daily ration was usually all used up by lunchtime, forcing him to interact with the rest of the family.

Apple and Google are finally listening to parents. Apple has launched tools to help manage screen time while Google is testing something similar on Pixel-branded Android phones.

Talking about this new feature, Apple boss Tim Cook said: “I think there are cases in life where anything good, used to the extreme, becomes not good.”

And he should know. Apple’s own founder Steve Jobs strictly limited his own children’s use of technology.